The Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation, Mr Gad Peter, has said that the validation and implementation of police regulations are significant to the nation’s future.
He said it would ensure that our law enforcement agencies operate within a transparent, accountable and human rights framework.
He noted this recently at the just concluded Police Reform Forum for the CSO Police Reform Forum: Advocacy on Police Regulation and Validation workshop organized by the CLEEN Foundation in Abuja.
According to him, this will not only safeguard the rights and dignity of citizens but also engender public trust and confidence in our institutions so that the Nigerian police will truly become our friends, where we can freely reach out to them to obtain justice.
He said the Nigerian police is traditionally the first defender of human rights, so we first reach out to the police whenever our rights are infringed upon.
In his words, “Our mandate is not to blame or point accusing fingers at the police, but to critically evaluate the process and suggest ways to make it better at delivering its core responsibilities.
The Executive Director/CEO of Future Now Initiative, Abuja, Alhaji Ahmed Sajoh, in his submissions, said that it is unfortunate that history is no longer taught in schools because most of our people today do not know where we are coming from, so somehow they tend not to know where we ought to be.
He explained that there was an E- branch, which was the intelligence unit of the native police, and one would never see any of their personnel in uniform because they worked with the members of the society secretly. It was members of this unit who helped crack a severe case.
“The police we have then were much more committed to their job because they realized they are the protectors of the society.
“Today, those principles that made the police effective have been eroded, leading to a lack of respect for the police, he asserted.
Also, the Director of Civil Liberty Organization, Aluko-Daniel Steve, on his part, harped on accountability not just in terms of funds but also in terms of the performance of the police in preventing crime.
He said the problem of the police today is a reflection of the kind of society we have because whatever we have as the outcome is a reflection of the type of input we invest as a society.
He said this is particularly problematic in police recruitment, where people with questionable characters are recruited.
“These recruitments are usually with the consent or recommendations of traditional rulers or politicians. So, what kind of police do we expect to have when it is being populated by individuals with questionable characters, often backed by powerful people?
“So the recruitment process, a very key challenge to Nigerian police, is a critical area on which any meaningful reform of the force must focus,” he said.
Also, a consultant on the Police Reform regulation, Adesina Oke, said there is a need to question the police structure, with some arguing for the creation of state police while there is increasing resistance to state police.
He said, “Any reform of the people should focus on these questions and others concerning how we can marry all these models and give our people the kind of police they deserve.”
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